As Employers, How should you be prepared for COVID-19?
As an employer, you have probably been tossing and turning each night wondering how the Coronavirus or COVID-19 will impact your workforce, your revenue, and what should you do next?
FutureSense has put together this handy guide to assist in this endeavor. And rest assured ALL sources have been vetted and verified.
Things to be aware of:
There are over 98,000 cases of coronavirus globally and more than 3,300 people have died.
Congress has just approved $8.3 billion to battle the coronavirus.
The pace of diagnosis has grown rapidly, and test kits are still slow to many states testing facilities.
West coast is currently the most affected region of the country.
Knowing this how should you respond?
Communication is key! Employers NEED to stay informed of the daily changing information regarding the Coronavirus. You should be checking the CDC website daily for updates (https://www.cdc.gov/). Coupled with that, as an employer, make sure employees know where to get information regarding the Coronavirus and the company policies regarding the virus.
Have you thought about allowing employees that can work from home? Making sure all employees have the capability to work from home now will keep things moving when they need to.
What about your laborers? Should the virus hit your area, consider a furlough. Some groups have considered furloughing employees for 10-14 workdays. Start discussing this with your executive team and be ready to use this tactic.
Throughout this time, make sure to keep communication lines open to address employee fears.
Consider the following: ·
Are your employees aware of their current health insurance policies/plans?
Are you making sure employees are staying home when they are sick?
Do your employees recognize the look and feel of the symptoms? Some are mild; however, symptoms don’t appear for 2-14 days after exposure. So, make sure employees are staying home when they have potentially been exposed or are exhibiting signs.
Encourage employees to work from home if they’re sick. It is as simple as that. As the employer, make sure to respond to all employee requests for accommodation and leave promptly.
Consider putting a hold on all non-essential work travel. Employers and customers are getting savvy with video calls. This might be the way to go for the time being.
Also, consider suspending unnecessary work travel to high-risk areas. Continue to check the list on the CDC website on ever-changing high-risk travel areas. Continually revisit the travel policy as the virus spreads domestically.
You might be prepared on what to communicate with employees, but what are doing at the workplace or worksite?
Consider these items: ·
Provide sanitation supplies around the workplace. This should include gloves, Clorox wipes or Lysol.
Make sure all employees understand how to wash their hands and frequently.
Make sure everyone is routinely cleaning offices environments and make sure you are providing cleaning products to all employees at their workspace.
Finally, make sure you have a communication chain set-in place should some one at your work facility be hit or quarantined.
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About FutureSense
FutureSense is a management consulting firm that provides integrated solutions to build and sustain human capital capacity. The firm can work with you by offering support and guidance to manage your workforce. To learn more about FutureSense, please visit FutureSense.com.
